Kampala, Uganda: President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni resumed his countrywide Parish Development Model (PDM) tour in Greater Mpigi on Monday with a visit to Butambala District, where he met Ms. Rashida Namubiru, a resident of Kasaka Village in Gombe Ward, whose life has been dramatically transformed by just Shs1 million in PDM funding.
Namubiru, a mother of eight and wife to Mr. Muhamood Kasule, told the President that she once lived in fear of minor emergencies, unable to raise even Shs100,000 to solve a household problem.
“Before the Parish Development Model, life was extremely difficult. If I had a problem of Shs100,000, I couldn’t solve it,” Namubiru said during the presidential visit. “That’s how helpless I was.”
Her turnaround began when PDM parish chiefs sensitized residents on how to form enterprise groups and apply for funding. She joined a group of eight women and later received an SMS notification confirming she had received Shs1 million from the Gombe PDM SACCO.
“My hands started shaking. I thought it was a mistake, maybe even a scam,” she said. “It was the first time I felt truly seen by my country.”
Namubiru used the money to buy four goats and build a temporary shelter for them. With no background in goat rearing, she sought knowledge from veterinarians and neighbors. In five months, her herd grew to over 10 goats. She later sold two goats to raise Shs400,000 and built a stronger animal shelter.
Using manure from the animals, she improved her coffee and banana plantations. From just Shs500,000 a season, her coffee harvest fetched Shs1.7 million. She used the proceeds to buy a cow and pay school fees for her son, who had dropped out after Senior Four.
“PDM has restored my dignity. I’m no longer a beggar. I’m a contributor, a farmer, a mother who can now educate her child,” she said.
Ms. Namubiru now owns eight goats, one cow, a thriving banana and coffee garden, and a piece of land, all products of her disciplined use of the PDM cash.
She emphasized that the PDM is non-partisan. “This money is not for NRM or any political group. It is for all Ugandans: Muslims, Catholics, Protestants, people of every tribe. Anyone who thinks otherwise will be left behind,” she said.
President Museveni hailed her story as a model of what PDM aims to achieve. “You know the parable of the sower,” the President said. “Some seeds fell on rocky ground, but some fell on good soil and bore fruit. Rashida reminds me of this parable.”
He pledged to buy her more land and contributed Shs12 million towards acquiring a tuk-tuk to support her enterprise.
The President reiterated the essence of PDM, which injects Shs100 million annually into each parish for household wealth creation, with possible expansion to Shs200 million.
“This money is not for the government. It is yours. Use that money and return it after 24 months so that others can borrow,” Museveni said. “All PDM beneficiaries must get Shs1 million — no bank charges.”
He also reflected on his six-decade struggle against poverty, linking the PDM to previous efforts like Entandikwa, NAADS, Operation Wealth Creation, and Emyooga, all aimed at economically transforming Ugandan households.
“Even one acre can employ up to 15 people. If we use just 7 million of Uganda’s 40 million arable acres, we can create over 100 million jobs, more than double our population,” the President said.
If you would like your article/opinion to be published on Uganda’s most authoritative anews platform, send your submission on: [email protected]. You can also follow DailyExpress on WhatsApp for realtime updates.
